Would appreciate advice on buying a used 2020 Model S

[MJSykes]

I was really hoping to buy a brand new Model S with bitcoin....until I saw that stupid steering yoke and the turn signal push buttons. I'm now looking at late model used cars which do NOT appear to be in plentiful supply. Do you think the supply of used 2020 Model S cars will increase or decrease after customers start receiving their yoked 2021 cars? I ask that question because websites that search dealership inventory only found two 2020 Long Range used cars for sale at this time within 75 miles of me (Tesla has none) and I'm wondering whether I need to grab one now while I have the chance!

One of these 2020 Model S cars is supposed to have the Full Self Driving option; how can I confirm this to be true when I inspect the car? [I don't know what standard auto-pilot features were included in 2020 models.]

What accessories (e.g., charging adaptors) should I check for?

Any other advice for finding and buying almost new Model S cars?

 

[CapeOne]

You'll want to expand your search to include 2021 MS models as 2021s were also pre-update cars. Contact a sales advisor at your local Tesla store regarding 2020 and 2021 MS inventories, including new/demo. Not all Tesla inventory is posted online

If the car has FSD, it would be listed as an included package under Software in the menu.

Regarding the yoke steering, it is still unknown whether all upcoming MS models will have it. It may end up being an option.

 

[MJSykes]

You'll want to expand your search to include 2021 MS models as 2021s were also pre-update cars. Contact a sales advisor at your local Tesla store regarding 2020 and 2021 MS inventories, including new/demo. Not all Tesla inventory is posted online

If the car has FSD, it would be listed as an included package under Software in the menu.

Regarding the yoke steering, it is still unknown whether all upcoming MS models will have it. It may end up being an option.

Thanks! Logic would seem to dictate that Tesla would make the yoke optional if it proves unpopular, or recent pre-update cars will become more plentiful in the used market if the yoke is popular. I'm not sure whether to rely on such logic though. Tesla's effort to hasten the transition to FSD by eliminating steering wheels before FSD is here does not seem terribly logical to me.

 

[Drew-MS]

I was really hoping to buy a brand new Model S with bitcoin....until I saw that stupid steering yoke and the turn signal push buttons. I'm now looking at late model used cars which do NOT appear to be in plentiful supply. Do you think the supply of used 2020 Model S cars will increase or decrease after customers start receiving their yoked 2021 cars? I ask that question because websites that search dealership inventory only found two 2020 Long Range used cars for sale at this time within 75 miles of me (Tesla has none) and I'm wondering whether I need to grab one now while I have the chance!

One of these 2020 Model S cars is supposed to have the Full Self Driving option; how can I confirm this to be true when I inspect the car? [I don't know what standard auto-pilot features were included in 2020 models.]

What accessories (e.g., charging adaptors) should I check for?

Any other advice for finding and buying almost new Model S cars?

You’ll also want to expand your search beyond 75 miles. Some of the best deals I’ve found on low mileage used were in other states. You can always drive it home or pay to have it transported to your home. I’ve done it many times.
Search ev-cpo.com and you’ll see all the new/used cars for sale by Tesla. There are many sites (autotrader, cars.com) to search outside of Tesla..

 

[RonE]

test

 

[RonE]

Disregard test post... sorry, I’m new here and I was trying to figure out posting.
With regard to your question about locating a 2020 model S... here is what I did, and I consider it a great deal.
I searched 2020 Model S’ within 150 miles; my intent was to find one for sale but found several lease takeover options. In my case, I found one an hour and a half away… car has 6000 miles… looks absolutely brand new… Owner simply wants someone to take over lease. And offered to pay me cash incentive to do it.

The advantage as I see it... The owner is relinquishing over $20,000 of equity in the car and I only have to pay lease payments for two years. At that point, I can determine if this car is really for me or if there are better options at that time… Or I can pay the car off and buy it from Tesla. If I buy the car after the lease payments, the purchase price is still tens of thousands of dollars less than buying one new and I don’t have to come up with a huge chunk of change to initiate the deal. In fact, the current leasee is paying all the transfer costs as well.

Considering some buyers are desperate to get out of their leases for various reasons or simply realize they can’t afford a vehicle… By taking over the lease with no money down, you gain all of the initial buyers dead equity in the vehicle. I have verified the validity of this lease takeover directly with Tesla, and Tesla handles all of the paperwork. If someone has an opinion as to why this is a bad idea… Please share your wisdom with me.

 

[Drew-MS]

Disregard test post... sorry, I’m new here and I was trying to figure out posting.
With regard to your question about locating a 2020 model S... here is what I did, and I consider it a great deal.
I searched 2020 Model S’ within 150 miles; my intent was to find one for sale but found several lease takeover options. In my case, I found one an hour and a half away… car has 6000 miles… looks absolutely brand new… Owner simply wants someone to take over lease. And offered to pay me cash incentive to do it.

The advantage as I see it... The owner is relinquishing over $20,000 of equity in the car and I only have to pay lease payments for two years. At that point, I can determine if this car is really for me or if there are better options at that time… Or I can pay the car off and buy it from Tesla. If I buy the car after the lease payments, the purchase price is still tens of thousands of dollars less than buying one new and I don’t have to come up with a huge chunk of change to initiate the deal. In fact, the current leasee is paying all the transfer costs as well.

Considering some buyers are desperate to get out of their leases for various reasons or simply realize they can’t afford a vehicle… By taking over the lease with no money down, you gain all of the initial buyers dead equity in the vehicle. I have verified the validity of this lease takeover directly with Tesla, and Tesla handles all of the paperwork. If someone has an opinion as to why this is a bad idea… Please share your wisdom with me.

It’s actually a great way to go. I’ve taken over several leases in the past with no issues. Sometimes the deal for a short lease (6-18 months) is so good that it’s hard to pass up. I actually have an SUV right now for 11 more months which was a lease transfer. Just make sure Tesla will allow you to buy the car if you want it at the end of the lease.

 

[MyJoule]

This may no longer be true, but not too long ago, Tesla would not let you buy the car at the end of the lease. Maybe it's changed, but like Drew-MS says, make sure of the ability to buy at the end of the lease if that's important to you

 

[CapeOne]

This may no longer be true, but not too long ago, Tesla would not let you buy the car at the end of the lease. Maybe it's changed, but like Drew-MS says, make sure of the ability to buy at the end of the lease if that's important to you

That only applies to M3 and MY but even those can be purchased by a third party dealer at lease end, just not directly by the lessee, If a lessee can find a dealer willing to act as sort of an intermediary, they can buy the car through them. Whether or not it's worth it will depend on the buyout price and what, if any, charges/fees the dealer seeks.